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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/22

October 18th, 2022 at 7:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad additions and subtractions:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: LB Blake Lynch
  • Released: WR Stanley Berryhill

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: S Innis Gaines
  • Released: CB Benjie Franklin, LB Ray Wilborn

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: WR DeMichael Harris

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: WR Kevin Kassis

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Falcons Move CB Casey Hayward To IR

October 18th, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Off to a 3-3 start that places them in a tie atop the NFC South, the Falcons will be tasked with staying on that pace without one of their starting cornerbacks. Casey Hayward is now on IR.

The Falcons moved the free agency acquisition to their injured list because of a shoulder injury. Arthur Smith said Monday the team worried about this injury affecting Hayward for a while. He will be out at least four weeks because of the ailment.

At 33, Hayward joins the Saints’ Chris Harris as the NFL’s oldest active corners. The Falcons signed Hayward to a two-year, $11MM deal this offseason and have used him as a starter opposite A.J. Terrell. The former Packers draftee has made 118 career starts and is now with his fourth franchise, having teamed with Gus Bradley with both the Chargers and Raiders. Pro Football Focus graded Hayward as a top-15 corner in 2021; the advanced metrics site has assigned him a middle-of-the-pack mark (50th) thus far this season.

This Hayward news comes just after the Falcons brought Isaiah Oliver off IR. Terrell suffered a thigh injury during the team’s win over the 49ers, but he remains on Atlanta’s active roster. The Falcons are still in good shape, activations-wise, having only used one of their eight IR-return spots this season. Hayward figures to be one of Atlanta’s IR-return moves this year. The team passed on activating Deion Jones from IR, instead trading the veteran linebacker to the Browns.

Darren Hall and Dee Alford were in for Hayward and Terrell against San Francisco, and AtlantaFalcons.com’s Tori McElhaney expects the former to take over for Hayward alongside Terrell. A fourth-round 2021 draft choice out of San Diego State, Hall played a season-high 38 defensive snaps against the 49ers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/15/22

October 15th, 2022 at 5:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/11/22

October 11th, 2022 at 7:34pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: TE Seth Green
  • Released: LS Tucker Addington

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: DL Micah Dew-Treadway, OT K.C. McDermott
  • Released: TE Nick Eubanks

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Released: OL Sebastian Gutierrez

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/22

October 10th, 2022 at 8:50pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

 

Rosen’s short stint with the sixth NFL franchise of his career has come to an end, for now. Rosen joined the Browns in the offseason and battled with Joshua Dobbs and Kellen Mond for backup positions behind temporary starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett while Deshaun Watson fulfills his 11-game suspension. Rosen lost out to Dobbs and Mond, eventually signing on to Cleveland’s practice squad, where he’s stayed until now. Rosen will likely continue to search for a team that he fits with, since he does not have to clear waivers as a vested veteran. It may behoove him to contact two teams he has a history with as both San Francisco and Miami have suffered injuries in their quarterback rooms.

Browns Acquire LB Deion Jones From Falcons

October 10th, 2022 at 10:00am CST by Adam La Rose

OCTOBER 10: Per the terms of the deal, which is now official, Atlanta will send Jones and their 2024 seventh-round pick to Cleveland for the Browns’ 2024 sixth-rounder. A statement from Falcons GM Terry Fontenot reads in part, “We thank Deion for the impact he has had over his seven seasons in Atlanta and wish him the best in his career.”

OCTOBER 9: Deion Jones‘ time in Atlanta has come to an end. The Falcons are trading the Pro Bowl linebacker to the Browns in exchange for late-round draft compensation (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). ESPN’s Jake Trotter tweets that the teams will swap Day 3 picks in 2024.

The 27-year-old has long been the subject of trade talk, given the size of his contract. Rapoport notes that Cleveland will absorb the remainder of his deal, though they will be on the hook for a 2022 base salary of only $1.14MM, due to a recent restructure.

Still, the fact that another three years remained on Jones’ deal with cap hits of over $13MM this year, and more than $20MM next, makes this another successful financial move from the Falcons’ perspective. The team will incur a dead cap charge of $12.14MM in 2023, per Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). For the Browns, the fact that no guaranteed money remains after 2022 made this acquisition a feasible one.

Jones is currently on IR, as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. When he is able to take the field, though, he will add a veteran presence to a Browns LB corps which lost Anthony Walker for the season. Jones – who has topped 100 tackles in all but one of his six seasons in the NFL, and notched 11 interceptions – has plenty of pedigree in both the pass and run game.

This move marks one of several financially-driven transactions for Atlanta. The team is already eating a record-breaking dead cap charge from quarterback Matt Ryan, in an effort to carve out space beginning in 2023. This trade will help accomplish that goal, though it still represents an underwhelming end to the former second-rounder’s tenure with the only franchise he had played for. In Cleveland, a team with greater 2022 aspirations and which, Rapoport notes, was looking to be active on the trade market, Jones will look to rebuild his value and contribute on a highly-regarded defense.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/22

October 8th, 2022 at 5:42pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the roster moves for today, leading into gameday tomorrow. Reminder that gameday elevations will revert to the practice squad after this weekend’s games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Falcons Rule Out Kyle Pitts For Week 5

October 7th, 2022 at 10:34am CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons will be without two of their difference-making skill players in Week 5. After placing Cordarrelle Patterson on IR, Atlanta ruled out Kyle Pitts for its game against Tampa Bay.

Pitts is battling a hamstring injury that led to three practice absences this week. The Falcons will give their highly drafted tight end more time to heal up. This will be Pitts’ first missed game as a pro.

Patterson, Pitts and Drake London represent the Falcons’ top weapons, and although Pitts is not on pace to match his strong rookie season just yet, he is obviously a critical part of the franchise’s present and future. The absences of Pitts and Patterson will challenge Arthur Smith‘s offense against the Buccaneers.

The league’s highest-drafted tight end since the AFL-NFL merger (No. 4 overall), Pitts has 10 receptions for 150 yards through four games. Last year, the former Florida dynamo delivered one of the best rookie seasons in the position’s history — a 68-catch, 1,026-yard offering — to secure a Pro Bowl nod and establish himself as Atlanta’s passing-game centerpiece for the foreseeable future.

This will make for an adjustment for the Falcons, who have won two straight. Traditional running backs will replace Patterson, with rookie Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley in place as Atlanta’s top runners. Free agency addition Damien Williams joins Patterson on IR. The Falcons have former UDFA Parker Hesse in place as their No. 2 tight end. Despite his undrafted status, Hesse played 87% of the Falcons’ offensive snaps in Week 4. The Iowa product has three receptions for 32 yards this season.

Falcons Cut DT Anthony Rush

October 6th, 2022 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Anthony Rush will go from being 4-for-4 in Falcons 2022 starts to the waiver wire. The Falcons cut their starting nose tackle Thursday, the team announced.

This move comes months after the player who was set to challenge or potentially usurp Rush at the position, Eddie Goldman, retired shortly after signing with Atlanta. Nevertheless, Dean Pees‘ defense will have a new starting nose in Week 5.

Rush, 26, had played 33% of Atlanta’s defensive snaps this season. Weighing north of 360 pounds, Rush worked as a run-stopper with the rebuilding team. Pro Football Focus had graded Rush outside the top 100 among interior defensive linemen, however. The former UDFA started six games for the Falcons last year, after coming over from the Titans midseason. He has played with five teams since coming into the league in 2019.

Grady Jarrett continues to work as the Falcons’ D-line mainstay, while 2021 fifth-round pick Ta’Quon Graham has seen his defensive snap rate rise to 63% this season. Marlon Davidson, a 2020 second-rounder, remains on IR after undergoing arthroscopic surgery late in the offseason. Journeyman Abdullah Anderson and rookie Timmy Horne, who have each been rotational players in Pees’ second season in Atlanta, could see more playing time as a result of this somewhat surprising Rush transaction.

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